Born Sick

Testing Infants for HIV

Author

Simon Neil Daly

Published

March 29, 2024

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to thoroughly examine the UNICEF Indicator detailing the reported number of Infants born to a pregnant woman living with HIV who received a virological test for HIV within the first 2 months since birth. This report aims to identify:

  1. Which Countries possess the Highest number of recorded observed cases.
  2. What effect this has on the Life Expectancy of a given examined country.
  3. Do key factors such as a country’s GNI, and GDP per Capita have any bearing on the number of observed cases in the time period 2011-2021. By identifying this data, this report hopes to provide vital insights to world health groups, and government bodies seeking to better understand where to allocate resources to combat the threat of HIV.

Global Spread of Cases in 2021

To illustrate the number of infants tested for HIV across the various examined countries, this report will focus on 2021.

This map chart depicts the number of observed cases of children tested for HIV within their first two months of life across the world in 2021, highlighting a particularly high density of observed cases within the borders of the continent of Africa. The Socio-economic climate of Africa likely plays a key role in the density of cases.

The map charts clearly illustrates which of the examined countries have the highest severity of observed cases, with the vast majority of observed cases falling within the boundaries of the continent of Africa with scattered cases also recorded in Central America and Southeast Asia. As can be seen in the first graph, South Africa has a significant number of recorded cases with 271,000 recorded in 2021 alone, over three times that of the next highest value of 83,000 cases in Mozambique. The number of recorded cases in South Africa in 2021 represents 0.45% of the total population.

The map chart depicts the number of observed cases of children tested for HIV within their first two months of life across the world in 2021, while excluding South Africa with the aim of highlighting a more accurate dispersion of observed cases around the globe.

As South Africa is an outlier which distorts the distribution of cases the second map graph excludes it to display a more accurate distribution, but the data is still skewed due to the number of countries with less than one thousand cases and the number with over 30,000 observed cases. It can be determined that South Africa is the unfortunate nation to suffer the Highest Volume of observed cases. The HIV epidemic in South Africa is well documented with the rural community of Vulindela in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa possessing one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world.

African states tend to have significantly higher numbers of Infants tested for HIV than any other continent due to a number of contributing factors, though exact factors will vary by nation, and demographic group (Nyindo 2005).

  • Inadequate Medical Care
    • Lack of Proper Facilities.
    • Uncertainty of safety of blood intended for transfusion.
  • Economic & Societal Factors
    • High levels of Poverty.
    • Famine.
    • Low status of women in society.
    • High Levels of Illiteracy.
    • Resistance to Change.
  • Political Factors
    • Corruption of Political Bodies.
    • Internal conflicts & Refugee Crises.

Steps have been taken to combat many of these factors which are explored later in this report.

The table below depicts the top 7 countries with the Highest recorded numbers of Infants tested in 2021.

Country Observed Cases
South Africa 271,000
Mozambique 83,000
Uganda 65,600
Tanzania 40,900
Kenya 37,600
Zimbabwe 54,300
Zambia 39,300

Percentage of Infants Tested

This bar chart seeks to provide a snapshot of the number of infants tested for HIV as a percentage of a Country’s total population. This will aid policy makers and health bodies in determining the severity of cases and whether more resources needs to be allocated for testing.

The bar chart seen above, lists all of the examined countries with recorded Observed Cases and displays the recorded cases as a Percentage of a country’s Total Population. This allows us to determine which countries have the Highest overall percentage of Infants who have been tested for HIV. As can be seen in the graph 0.45 percent of South Africa’s population (infants under the age of 2 months) have been tested for HIV within the examined time period. The next Highest percentage is Swaziland at 0.34%.

HIV testing is a vital step in stopping the spread of HIV. Many countries have adopted WHO-recommended strategies for testing (Fajardo et al 2023) and with support from UNAIDS who provide vital strategic direction, advocacy, coordination, and technical support, governments around the world, the private sector, and communities can all work in tandem to provide accurate and affordable testing (UNAIDS 2024).

Key Factors and their Influence on the Number of Cases 2014-2021

Influence on Life Expectancy

This line graph provides a look at how the life expectancy of nations with observed cases have evolved overtime. The number of observed cases in a given year can also be seen illustrating how the number of infants tested fluctuate from one year to the next.

With the Highest Proportion of Observed Cases being localised to Africa, this report aims to examine to what affect, if any, does A, the number of Observed Cases affect Life Expectancy of an examined country, and B how does a countries GDP per Capita, and GNI affect the number of cases reported. Let’s first examine the effect on Life Expectancy. The line graph examines how the Life Expectancy of countries with Observed Cases, have changed over the years.

As can be seen in the graph Africa has the most dispersed level of Life Expectancy across the various examined states indicating a clear difference in between North African nations which tend towards lower cases and higher life expectancies compared to their more southern neighbours, and between Africa and the other examined continents. On a global scale Sub-Saharan states experience exhibit much lower life expectancies overall and significantly higher case volumes illustrating that this is a key area to focus on in the fight against HIV.

As this graph illustrates countries with high volume of infants tested for HIV tend towards middling Life Expectancies. HIV is well-known to be a very dangerous virus and it causes significant loss of life in many countries, which is a leading contributor to the lower life expectancy experienced by the countries depicted in the graph.

The majority of examined countries possess a Life Expectancy between 57 and 67 years of age. Most of these countries number 10,000 Observed Cases or Less with some as low as Forty. At lower levels of cases observed there seems to be no direct correlation with the level ofLife Expectancy, however countries possessing a high severity of Cases are rooted firmly within the 57-67 age bracket illustrating that High Volumes of Observed Cases have a significant effect on a countries’ Life Expectancy even if it’s only one of a number of contributing factors.

How does GDP per Capita Influence the Number of Tested Cases

The relationship between a country’s GDP and the number of Infants tested for HIV is explored in this graph. Low GDP can clearly be seen in countries with high volumes of observed cases however countries with low GDP can still exhibit lower number of cases.

The second scatter plot examines the relationship between the number of Observed Cases in a country and its GDP per capita. As can be seen in the graph countries with High numbers of cases tend to have low GDP illustrating that a country’s wealth and development level have a direct contributing factor in the volume of cases. However, many of the countries examined in this report possess both Low numbers of Observed Cases and a Low GDP score.

The meaning here is clear, countries with lower income available have less to spend on developing important medical and educational facilities, stalling the ability to combat HIV and spread awareness of the risks.

How does a Country’s GNI Influence the Number of Tested Cases

This scatter plot examines whether a country’s GNI has any correlation with the number of Infants tested for HIV. As can be inferred from the plot low GNI can be considered to be a contributing factor, as countries’ experiencing high volumes of cases possess low GNI.

The final scatter plots compares the number of reported cases in a country to a country’s total GNI. This aims to examine to what effect the National Income of a nation’s population has on the severity of cases. As can be seen in the graph countries with High Case Volumes tend towards lower GNI scores, furthering illustrating the correlation between a country’s wealth and its number of cases. It should be noted that many countries with High GNI and Low GNI both experience low number of cases in equal measure.

As can be seen in Scatter Plot 3 South Africa is a clear outlier possessing a moderate GNI with a significant volume of Infants tested which has increased over the examined period. Scatter Plot 4 excludes South Africa to provide a better view of other countries, illustrating an increase in Observed Cases in several African nations.

What is Being Done to Combat HIV

HIV testing is a vital step in stopping the spread of HIV. Many countries have adopted WHO-recommended strategies for testing (Fajardo et al 2023) and with support from UNAIDS who provide vital strategic direction, advocacy, coordination, and technical support, governments around the world, the private sector, and communities can all work in tandem to provide accurate and affordable testing (UNAIDS 2024).

There has been several steps to combat HIV/AIdS around the world. UNICEF has partnered with UNAIDS and the WHO to form a global alliance with the aim of eradicating HIV in children by the year 2030. This alliance was formed to due the lack of support received by children in comparison with adults. The UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2022 reports that only 52% of children living with HIV receive the vital life-saving medication, while 76% of infected adults are receiving antiretrovirals (UNAIDS 2022).

A number of African States including South Africa and Mozambique have joined the initiative alongside other key organisations including the Global Network of People Living with HIV, The United States President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund (Healthcare MEA 2022). This alliance will allow the sharing of key resources, strategies, and data needed to inform and education people of the risks of HIV and provide proper care for preventing and treating HIV. Catherine Russel, the Executive Director of UNICEF discusses the alliance in the video below.

Conclusion

The following determinations can be made from the examined graphs, South Africa tends to possess the highest annual recorded number of cases illustrating the clear need for further support for people suffering from HIV. On an annual basis, Swaziland and South Africa rank among the countries with the highest percentage of cases compared to total populace (in terms of infants tested for HIV) though there are years where this vary somewhat.

Additionally, the majority of cases lie within the continent of Africa, with key factors influencing the spread and volume of HIV including a lack of proper medical and education facilities, poverty, and political factors while a country’s Wealth and Level of Development has a direct influence on the number of observed cases. High Volumes of cases tend to occur in nations with lower GNI but there are exceptions such as South Africa, and often lead countries to experience middling Life Expectancy. There is however hope as local and international government and political bodies work with leading health groups such as the WHO and the private sector to combat the spread of HIV as can be seen with the Global Alliance.

Bibliography